Things Unplanned
by beautifulqueenx
Summary: How do you know if someone is your soul mate? How do you know if she's the one? Is she the beautiful girl who gives you butterflies when you first see her? Or is she the pretty girl who is always by your side, selflessly giving you the warmth you need? Marius promises that if he ever finds the one, he will never let her go. But then life always has another plan.
1. Chapter 1

**Things Unplanned**

**Summary:**

_How do you know if someone is your soul mate? How do you know if she's the one? Is she the beautiful girl who gives you butterflies when you first see her? Or is she the pretty girl who is always by your side, selflessly giving you the warmth you need? _

_Marius Pontmercy is a hopeless romantic, a big believer in soul mates. He knows that there is one perfect girl for him, the one who will make him the happiest man on earth; the one he is going to love until his very last breath. He spends __his entire life looking for her, and when he finds her, he promises that he will never let go of her. _

_At least, that's the plan, but you know what they say, life always has a plan of its own._

_Will Marius succeed? Is he ever going to find The One? Or will everything slip away from him before he even manages to get a grip?_

_Things Unplanned - A tale of discovery, friendship and never-ending love. _

**Chapter 1**

Marius woke up today feeling miserable.

His long and narrow fingers stretched as they reached out for the noisy alarm clock, turning it off. Groaning, he cupped his face with his hands and cursed the sunlight that lighted his bedroom. He had forgotten to close the drapes before he went to sleep last night, so right now his bedroom was bright and almost too warm for him to go back to sleep. He considered not going to school today, but thought better of it when he realized that it would invite more questions from his parents which he knew he would never be in the mood to answer.

Grudgingly, Marius kicked his blanket away as he got up from his bed. He sauntered to the bathroom, his pace unsteady as he was still extremely sleepy. The boy ran his fingers through his thick and messy hair, scratching his head although it was not itchy. He turned the shower tap on before stripping himself off his blue boxer. As he stepped into the shower, he felt a little bit better and all his problems were gone for a while as the warm water drenched his tall and lanky body.

For a moment, he forgot how restless and depressing last night was for him.

Marius Pontmercy was a hopeless romantic, and he was proud of it. Although his romantic nature caused him to be a laughing stock among his group of friends, he could not and would not change himself just so that they would stop making fun of him. He loved being in love, being in a relationship. He loved having a girlfriend whom he could spoil and give everything he had. He loved believing that there was going to be one girl in his life who was going to make him the happiest man on earth.

He believed that his soul mate was out there, waiting and searching for him, just like he was waiting and searching for her.

When he met Elizabeth Daniels, he thought that she was the one. He was attracted to her. How could he not? Elizabeth, whom he called Lizzie, was the prettiest girl he had ever laid his eyes on. She had the whitest set of teeth, the most mesmerizing smile. Her emerald green eyes took his breath away as she stared at him lovingly. Her crimson hair, as bright as the morning sun, was silky and smooth and he loved running his fingers through it before placing his hand behind her neck and softly pulled her in for a kiss.

And when they kissed, everything was perfect. She was perfect. She was everything he had ever wanted. Marius held on to her like she was the only one who kept him from falling, but in the end, he fell anyway. He fell so hopelessly and desperately in love with her.

If only she felt the same way about him.

The thing about Lizzie Daniels was that she was popular, and she loved being popular. She cherished the Queen Bee status that she had in school and she would do anything in her power to keep it, even if it meant dating the school's basketball star, Marius Pontmercy, although she was not in any way attracted to him. She knew that he loved her, but she could not bring herself to care. She had other things to think about. This was nothing personal to her, it's just school politics. She had to mingle with the right people to get to the top. It's simple logic.

Therefore, when the school basketball team lost to the opposing team after an embarrassing match, Lizzie knew that she could not date Marius anymore. The boy who was once a shining star was now a no one. She broke up with him, telling him the truth about her feelings for him. It broke his heart, but Lizzie had to do what she had to do. She was ambitious and she knew what she wanted.

Marius was not one of them.

* * *

"_I cannot believe you're still dating that bitch," Eponine remarked one day when she was walking to class with Marius. She was fuming; her face red and his nostrils flaring. She clutched her textbook close to her chest, fearing that she might hit someone simply to release this rage that was building inside of her. Her jaw clenched as her eyes narrowed. She turned to Marius who was walking along with her. _

"_She is not that bad, Eponine. You're the one who refuse to give her a chance" Marius uttered nonchalantly, completely disregarded the fact that his best friend hated his girlfriend, and there was literally nothing he could do to change that._

"_Are you fucking serious, Marius? I have been doing nothing but giving her chances but you know what she does? She treats me like I'm nothing, like I'm not even worth her time!" Eponine barked as her hand swatted Marius' arm. The man was playing with his phone, so Eponine's hit surprised him. He flinched at the pain because although she was small, Eponine was very strong._

"_What?"_

"_Are you even listening to me?" _

_Marius rolled his eyes before his face contorted into a frown; he was getting tired of his friend's complaints about his new girlfriend. _

"_You're getting Lizzie all wrong," he replied, trying to be as patient he possibly could._

_Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Eponine's angry eyes, sharp and pointed, were now looking at Marius with such ferocity that he had to take a step backwards because he had never seen her like this. If looks could be weapons, Eponine could have done some serious destruction to Marius right now. He gulped, waiting for Eponine's roar._

"_I'm wrong?! Me?! I cannot believe you're taking her side in this, Marius!" she yelled angrily. Her breath ragged, she seemed to not be able to control herself._

"_She is my girlfriend, Eponine. And you're talking bad things about my girlfriend! I don't like that!"_

"_And your girlfriend treated me like shit! Why haven't you say anything about that?! I am your best friend!"_

"_Are you really?" Marius retorted, losing his temper, "Best friends support each other. Best friends don't talk shit about their best friends' partner. Best friends care about each other's feelings. Right now, it seems to me that you're not even capable of being a friend, let alone a best friend!"_

_As soon as the words left his mouth, Marius regretted them. Marius regretted every single one of them. He did not mean all that. He just got carried away._

_He opened his mouth to take everything back but nothing came out. Eponine's expression turned from furious to utterly hurt and disappointed. He saw her eyes watered, making him feel even guiltier._

"_Eponine, I'm…" he started._

"_Save it," Eponine interrupted, holding up her palm, signalling him to stop talking. Her voice hoarse and Marius could tell that she was on the verge of crying. _

_See, his best friend, Eponine was a strong woman, and she did not cry often. But now she was going to, and this meant that he had truly hurt her with his words. _

_Marius could not believe that he was the one who could make her cry. Marius could not believe how much of a jerk he was to his own best friend._

_He wanted to apologize, but before he could, Eponine wordlessly spun her heels and walked away, leaving the guilt-ridden Marius in the hallway completely alone._

* * *

The fight Marius had with Eponine happened three days ago but it was still fresh on Marius' mind, as if it happened yesterday. Eponine refused to talk to him ever since, and it had been hell for Marius. He felt guilty all the time, causing his thoughts to be interrupted and his focus lost whenever she came into his mind.

Because of his big mouth and inability to control his speeches, his best friend now did not want to have anything to do with him. It sucked. It really, really sucked.

Marius parked his car, and got out of it. As he locked his car, his eyes scrutinized the crowd, looking for a girl with auburn locks and olive skin. He was looking for Eponine.

He had enough of this. He realized that he had been nothing but a complete jackass and he had learned his lesson; never let anyone get in between his friendship with Eponine. The girl had never failed to always be with him whenever he needed her. Her kind words made him feel better whenever he was feeling down. She was a loyal and an amazing friend; and Marius could not believe he threw everything both of them had for a girl who did not want him in the first place.

Marius strutted down the hallway, looking left and right for Eponine. And he found her a minute later, leaning against Courfeyrac's locker, trying to console the dejected man. Like Marius, Courfeyrac was also in the basketball team and apparently he too, took the loss pretty badly. He saw Eponine leaned over and gave him a hug, patting his back. Marius could have sworn he saw a tear streamed down Courfeyrac's face before he quickly wiped it away.

Marius made his way towards both of them. As he saw Marius, Courfeyrac pulled himself out of Eponine's embrace and cracked a little smile. Eponine's head turned towards Marius, and the kind smile that she had on her face disappeared at the sight of him. Marius knew that she was yet to forgive him.

"I'll leave the two of you alone," Courfeyrac murmured, and walked away from both of them despite Eponine's protests.

Eponine crossed her arms across her chest as she gazed at Marius. Her expression was unreadable. There was an awkward silence hanging in the air between them, before Eponine broke it.

"I think I better get going," she uttered, turning around before Marius could say anything. Refusing to lose her again, Marius grabbed her small arm, causing her to freeze.

"Eponine, I'm sorry," Marius whispered. Eponine did not say anything, nor did she turn to face him. Sighing, Marius moved so that he was standing in front of her.

"Why now?" she questioned suddenly. Her dark brown eyes met his slightly lighter ones as she stared at him.

"I made a mistake, 'Ponine," Marius started, "I know that I've hurt you. I am sorry. I should have listened to you and never doubted you. You're right. Lizzie is a bitch. She never cared about me and everything Lizzie and I had was only based on her lies,"

Eponine simply shook her head as she replied, "But you chose her. You chose her over me. You doubted my friendship even when I had been doing nothing but trying to accept her, for _your_ sake. You. Chose. Her."

Venom dripped in every word that came out of her mouth. Marius closed his eyes, hurt. He looked down at his feet. He knew that she was not going to forgive him. He had lost his best friend now and there was no way he was ever going to get her back.

But he was not going to give up. Not just yet.

"That was my biggest mistake,"

"That was your biggest mistake," she repeated.

Marius fought the urge to cry under Eponine's hard stare. Figuring he had literally nothing else to lose, he finally spoke, "I am a conceited jerk who did not realize what he had until it's gone. I never realize how much our friendship means to me until I made the mistake with Lizzie. You are literally the best thing that ever happened to me, Eponine, for you are the most amazing person whom I was lucky enough to have as a friend."

Marius took a deep breath before he continued, "But I threw everything away because I am an idiot. An idiot who does not deserve your friendship at the first place, but this idiot misses you, he wants you back; he _needs_ you back. You deserve a better friend than me, but for what it's worth, if I am ever lucky to have you as my friend again, I promise that I will never, ever hurt you again."

"Don't make promises you cannot keep, Pontmercy," Eponine interrupted. Marius looked at her and found that her gaze had softened, but she was still staring stubbornly at him.

"I'm sorry, Eponine. I really am. I just…"

"Save it," Eponine cut his speech. Marius looked down; preparing himself for whatever Eponine was going to say.

To his surprise, he heard her laugh before saying, "You are such an idiot, Marius."

He glanced at her, and she was smiling at him. Her tone was no longer cold and uncaring but instead, it was warm and kind, just like the tone she always used when she was with him. Finally, Marius felt his lips curved upwards as he grinned, feeling happy.

She was no longer mad at him, and he had never felt so relieved.

"Well, yeah. But I am your idiot," Marius said cheekily, causing the pretty brunette to chuckle.

"Oh shut up, Pontmercy," Eponine swatted his arm. Her hit still hurt but Marius did not care. He loved seeing his friend smiling at him again.

"Your little speech sounds like it comes from some cheesy rom-coms, which I told you for a million times to stop watching. Seriously, it does not hurt to watch something else once it a while," she giggled. She found that Marius was staring at her fondly, so she continued, "But it was really sweet, so thank you for realizing that you're an idiot."

"Now, let's go to class. I don't want to be late because of you."

Eponine tugged Marius' arm as she sauntered down the hallway. Marius simply beamed and followed her silently.

As they walked together, Marius' head turned to his left and found that Lizzie was there, watching him and Eponine. He felt a jab in his heart as their eyes met as he suddenly remembered what happened last night. The happiness that he felt just now suddenly dissipated. He knew that it would take a while before he could get over Lizzie. No, he did not know whether he could ever forget her. She might be a bitch, but Marius used to love her. And when he loved someone, he gave the person his everything.

It sucked having everything thrown back at you. It sucked being this broken hearted.

Suddenly, Marius felt a soft hand touching his shoulder. It was Eponine. Like him, she too, was staring at Lizzie but then darted her gaze back to Marius. She gave him a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder before she took his hand in hers and pulled him away, out of Lizzie's sight.

Yes, Marius knew that sometimes things would get tough for him. Sometimes he would find himself in a difficult situation that he did not know how to get out off. However, as he stared at his friend Eponine, he knew that everything was going to be fine.

Eponine was by his side, and that thought made him feel invincible and strong. With Eponine in his life, he knew that he could get through anything.

Marius did not know how he would ever get over Lizzie, but he knew that Eponine was never going to leave him alone, and for now, that was all he needed to know.

That was all that mattered.

* * *

**A/N: So, this is my very first Marponine story! And I am very nervous for this.**

**Alright Marponine is not my favourite OTP but I have this plot playing in my head for a while and Marponine is the perfect pairing for it. But knowing myself, this story is going to have Marisette (because duh, you cannot forget Cosette) and will feature some Enjonine. But it's a Marponine story, yes.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think! Reviews are extremely appreciated! :D **

**Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Warning : Mentions of abuse.

* * *

_Eight years ago…_

She was half-hidden behind the tree, watching the boy with her big brown eyes. The boy was sitting alone on the bench, watching other 10-year-olds who were playing basketball, his expression sad and solemn.

He was the new boy in the neighbourhood. She heard his parents had bought the grand, beautiful bungalow by the lake. Based on that, she concluded that his family must had a lot of money. It must be nice having a lot of money, she thought. Her papa told her that money could buy everything, even happiness, if she knew how to spend it. He also told her that she should find as much money as she could, even if it meant that she had to steal it.

She thought that stealing was wrong, but her papa said that there was more to world than just black and white. Besides, these rich people had too much already, so a few missing bucks would not mean that much to them.

It would be easy to steal from this boy. He was so deep in his thoughts that she doubted he would even realize her presence. Eponine scrutinized his feature, and for a young boy, he was pretty tall. He had freckled, pale face and his hair colour were lighter than hers, and so were his eyes. Everything about him screamed wealthy; from his clean, neat and expensive clothes to his brand new sneakers, it would not take a genius to know that he was from a well-to-do family.

Eponine scoffed. Her papa was wrong. Money could not buy _everything_, because apparently, money could not buy this poor boy a friend.

She would be lying if she said that she did not feel sorry for him.

"It would be great if you stop watching me now," she heard the boy speak, and she turned to run away because he had seen her, "You don't have to go. You can sit with me. I don't mind," the boy continued kindly.

Eponine stood frozen at her spot, her back facing the boy. She heard the boy move, probably making a room on the bench for her. She should run away now. Who cared about what the boy might think?

However, she did not know what made her do it, but against her better judgment, she went ahead and joined him.

The boy did not turn to look at her when she sat down next to him. He was still watching the other kids. However, he seemed to feel her questioning gaze on his, so he uttered in a slow voice laced with sadness, "They would not let me play with them,"

Eponine stayed silent. Sensing that she was not going to say anything, the boy continued to talk, "Why is it so hard to find friends?"

"I don't know, I don't have a lot of friends too," Eponine answered honestly. It was true though. She did not have a lot of friends and frankly, she did not really mind. Everything worked better and faster when she was alone. After all, people thought that she was the strange Thenardier kid, the one who was always alone, singing to herself and observe people like they were some kind of interesting show. Eponine always thought that she was her best company, but then again, she was still a normal child. She got lonely too.

"Do you want to play?" Eponine found herself asking. The boy looked at her with an incredulous expression on his pretty face. Then, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"There's another basketball court a few blocks from here and if you want to play basketball, you can play there. I always go there and play alone. It would be cool if you want to join me."

The boy hesitated, and Eponine could not help but to feel a little disappointed. Did he not want to play with her?

"I don't know how to play basketball," the boy murmured shyly, his ears turned red as he looked down at his feet, "I don't play any sports. I don't know how."

Eponine could not help but to giggle because it was quite weird to see a boy who did not know how to play sport. The boy seemed angry because he thought she was making fun of him. He then rose from his feet and started to walk away from Eponine. However, she followed him closely, as if she was his shadow, and tapped on his shoulder.

"What?" he snapped as he turned to face her.

"I can teach you," Eponine smiled kindly. She glanced at the other kids and then turned her gaze to the boy. She uttered, "I am better than all of them combined. I can teach you how to play and they will be sorry that they did not let you join them."

"Why would you want to help me?"

Eponine was caught off-guard by his question. No one had ever asked her that. But then, she had never offered her help to anyone.

"B-because… it gets lonely playing alone," she stammered, but her reply was honest. Eponine felt blush forming on her cheeks and she turned her gaze somewhere else, refusing to meet the boy's stare. She suddenly felt utterly vulnerable and exposed, so she crossed her arms across her chest, as if she was hugging her body, as if she was trying to protect herself from him.

"Sure. I would love to play with you," he suddenly said after a moment of silence. His voice was filled with newfound excitement and Eponine felt her heart soar.

"Should we go now?" Eponine questioned, and the boy beamed, which she took as a yes. Suddenly, they saw other kids ran past them, all of them heading to the same direction. They wondered why, but then their question was answered almost immediately when they saw an ice-cream truck parked beside the playground.

"You go ahead, I am not hungry," Eponine said when she saw the boy looking at the truck longingly, and he gave her a sheepish smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. The situation turned awkward almost instantly when Eponine's stomach made a very, very embarrassing grumble and her face turned into a deep shade of crimson. She expected him to laugh at her, but then he took out his wallet and asked, "Do you want one?"

She did not remember the last time she ate ice-cream but right now she's craving for one. However, she did not have the money to buy it and she was not going to let this boy whom she barely knew buy one for her. No, she still had her pride. She refused to accept charity. Therefore, stubbornly, Eponine muttered, "No, thank you."

The boy simply nodded and wordlessly, made his way to the ice-cream truck. Eponine followed suit and when they're there, she heard the boy ordering two cones of ice-cream. Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the boy disbelievingly.

"I thought I said that I did not want one,"

"I know, but I don't like eating alone. You can buy me one the next time we meet,"

Eponine grinned, "There's going to be a next time?"

"Of course," the boy said, "I'm your friend now."

Eponine's eyes widened, "You want to become my friend?"

"Why are you so surprised?" he raised a questioning brow as he handed her the ice-cream. Eponine did not answer his question though. No one had ever wanted to be her friend before. Seeing that he was still waiting for her answer, slowly, Eponine accepted the ice-cream and beamed, "No reason. Thank you so much for this. It's very kind of you."

"You're welcome."

"So, I suppose friends should know each other's name," Eponine uttered as they made their way to the basketball court.

The boy simply chuckled as he replied, "I suppose they should."

"My name is Eponine Thenardier," Eponine introduced herself.

The boy turned his head to her and a grin formed on his pretty face as he replied, "My name is Marius Pontmercy."

* * *

_Two years after Marius and Eponine became friends…_

Marius swiftly dodged Eponine's attack, and jumped, shooting his fifth goal. Wiping the sweat on his forehead, he turned to his friend who was glaring at him, clearly not satisfied that he won the game against her. She had been unsatisfied for a while now, for she had never won against him after the fifth month she taught him basketball. Apparently, Marius was quite talented in this game.

Perhaps it's because Eponine was a marvellous teacher, but Marius liked to think that he had talent.

Marius picked up the ball and threw it at Eponine, who caught it and moved to the bench outside the court. She was awfully quiet today, which was unlike her. She was usually chatty. Marius' eyebrows furrowed. Come to think of it, she did not talk much these past few days. Something must have been bothering her.

He sat next to her as she packed her stuff, waiting for her to say something. However, she simply took out two water bottles from her bag and handed him one. Still not saying anything, Eponine tied her hair into a ponytail, revealing her slender neck, and Marius' expression faltered when he saw a bruise at the back of it. The bruise looked bad, and he knew that it must hurt. He lightly touched the spot and Eponine jumped from her seat as if it was made of fire. Her face reddened as she quickly released her ponytail, trying to hide purplish mark from Marius.

"What are you doing?" she glared at him, furious.

"Your parents are beating you again, are they not?"

Everything was clear now. A year ago, Eponine's father was arrested for robbing a house and ever since then, Eponine's life was never the same. Her father, whom she used to look up to, whom she adored, now was the person she was really scared of. Eponine's mother, whom she used to love so much, now forced her to do jobs that she did not want to do. If she refused to do so, she would get beaten up. She was used to it after a while, but then they started beating Azelma.

Eponine now lived a very miserable life, but she did not know how to get herself out of it.

She tried so hard to hide her parents' abuse towards her and her siblings from Marius because she did not want him to get in the middle of her family's crisis. But somehow, Marius found out anyway. She had to protect her friend, so she lied to him when he threatened to call the child services.

She told Marius that they had stopped and were sober, which was a lie that Marius believed.

If finding out that your friend lied to you did not hurt enough, finding out that your friend was bruised and beaten by her own parents should do the trick.

Eponine blinked rapidly, fidgeting under Marius' penetrating stare. Her throat had suddenly gone dry, and her mind had gone numb as she tried to come out with an explanation.

"That's it. I am telling my father, and he's going to call child services,"

"No, don't!"

"Why not? What do you expect me to do, 'Ponine? Wait around, let him beat you and your sister, or God forbid, Gavroche? Do you really expect me to sit around while I know he's harassing you? Do you…"

"Marius, you don't understand," Eponine interrupted, she felt her eyes misting over and before she knew it, she was in tears, "As bad as they are, they are still my parents!"

Eponine hugged her body, trying to calm herself down. His parents might be jackasses, but they're still the only parents she knew and… well, loved. They used to give her everything, teach her everything she knew. What would happen if she let Marius report them to child services? She would be separated from her family for good. What would she do without them? What would she do without her family?

Right now, only Eponine and her sister, Azelma, who was only nine years old, took the beating. They could only hope that they did not get started on Gavroche, who was only five.

"'Ponine, you're my friend…" Marius started, his voice rasp, laced with worry for her friend's well-being.

"… and you're my friend too, Marius,"

"I cannot just let this happen to you, 'Ponine,"

"Marius, I can take care of myself," she replied stubbornly, and felt a slight of annoyance when she heard Marius groan, "Things will get better, I promise,"

….

They did not. Instead, the beating got worse.

Marius was in the living room with his father when he heard the knocking on the door. He glanced at his father, who then turned to his mother who was just walking out of the kitchen. Who could that be? It's already midnight, and it's raining like crazy. Why would anyone knock on their door at this time?

Marius made his way to the front door, ready to open it when his father stopped him. As it was already late, he feared about whoever that was outside. Suddenly, Marius heard someone called his name, and he knew that voice so well.

_Eponine._

He quickly opened the door and was shocked to find the Thenardier siblings at his doorstep, soaked and wounded. Marius caught Eponine just in time as she fainted in his arms. There were so many cuts and bruises on her body that Marius could barely recognize her anymore. He glanced at Azelma, who looked really weak and at Gavroche, who could not stop crying. The Pontmercys quickly took them in as they finally had enough.

They were going to put a stop to all this. They would never let the Thenardiers lay a finger on their own children ever again.

* * *

_One year later…_

The Thenardier siblings were lucky that they found a family who wanted to take care of them, despite their parents' reputation. Mr and Mrs. Steel were two very generous and successful people who wanted to have children of their own but could not. So, when they met the Thenardier children, they agreed to adopt all of them because they did not have the heart to separate the siblings. Eponine knew that it would take some time for her to get used to living with new people, but at least now, they would be in good care.

But everything came with a price. Mr. and Mrs. Steel travelled a lot, so, Eponine and her siblings had to follow them. This meant only one thing, Eponine had to say goodbye to her friend, Marius.

Right now, they were at the playground where they first met, and Marius looked just like the time Eponine first found him, sad and solemn.

"I still can't believe that you're going," Marius murmured miserably as he looked down at his feet. His eyes were red as he had been crying. He had not been able to sleep for a week now, not since Eponine told him that she was going to leave him.

"Don't look so sad, Marius," Eponine tried to comfort him. "We'll keep in touch."

"Will we?" Marius scoffed, and then he said, "Promise me that you will not find another best friend to replace me?"

Eponine chuckled at his childish response, but when he was silent, she knew that he was being serious, "I promise."

"Promise me you'll call. Or write. Or in any way tell me that you still think about me," Marius cried, and Eponine saw tears rolling down his cheeks. She felt a heavy tug in her heart, finally realizing that now she was leaving, it meant that she would never see Marius every day anymore. She could no longer play with him, or help him with his homeworks, or look after him anymore. And he could never tell her his jokes, or bring her to the movies, or let her stay the night at his house when they would talk about their dreams until they fall asleep.

They were going to drift apart.

There were tons of things that Eponine wanted to tell Marius, like how much she loved him, how much she valued their friendship, how much he meant to her. He saved her life. He made her days brighter and bearable. He was her little hero. Would she ever find someone else like him?

There were so many words to be spoken, but nothing came out. The two best friends sat in comfortable silence before Eponine finally spoke, "Promise me that you will never stop playing basketball, okay?"

Marius turned to look at her, and she could not quite fathom his expression. It was, perhaps, a mixture of sadness and determination.

"I promise."

Suddenly, they heard a honk, and when they turned, it was Mr. Steel who came to pick up Eponine. At the back seat of the car, she saw Azelma and Gavroche, waving excitedly at her, clearly ecstatic that they were finally leaving this awful town they grew up in.

Eponine rose from her seat and Marius followed suit. Before she got into the car, she turned to Marius. She tried to memorize his face, from the freckles on his face to his nose that was a little crooked (alright this was her fault, she had broken his nose in a basketball game once when she threw the ball right to his face, and she felt really bad about it). She stroked his cheeks which was already wet with tears.

"Take care of yourself, Marius. Don't forget about me," Eponine said. Her voice was soft and laced with agony of separation. She bit her bottom lip, trying hard to not shed a tear.

Marius' eyes watered again, "I will never forget you. You're my 'Ponine."

Then, all of the sudden, he pulled her into an embrace. By this time, Eponine could no longer stop herself from crying.

"I love you, Marius," she whispered, her voice almost inaudible because of her tears. She hugged him tightly, as if she would die if she ever let him go.

"I love you too, Eponine,"

It took them a while to let go of each other, and when they finally did, it was the saddest moment of their lives.

Eponine waved sadly at him as she went. Marius chased the car, still could not believe that this would be the last time he would see his friend. However, the car sped up and Marius could no longer run after it.

He stopped, panting as he waved at Eponine. When the car was out of sight, Marius felt a huge hole in his life that he knew that he could never, ever replace. He had to say goodbye to his best girl, and that really sucked.

* * *

_Three years later…_

They tried to keep in touch, but in the end, their fear came true and they had to accept the fact that they were drifting apart. They did not send letters anymore because Eponine moved a lot, so her address often changed. The calls too, also became less frequent because both of them were too busy with their lives. So, after some time, Eponine stopped picking up the calls and Marius stopped calling. Just like that, they were history.

Or that's what they thought they were.

The Pontmercys moved to another town two years after Eponine left. Marius wanted a fresh start, as everything in the old town reminded him of his best friend whom he still missed so much. Besides, he did not get along with anyone there. When he had Eponine, she was the only one he wanted to talk to, and Eponine was a great friend. After her, everyone else just seemed uninteresting.

In the new town, everything was different.

Marius changed a lot. Puberty was a blessing which turned him from an ugly duckling to a hot shot in school. He was still skinny but years of training in basketball caused him to gain muscle. He was now a sophomore, but he was good enough to make it on the basketball team, representing his school in multiple championships and competitions. He was confident, although sometimes he could be a little bit cocky. Nonetheless, he was not some cliché dumb jock like the ones you would find in chick flicks. He was intelligent. He maintained his grades and never failed a test. Basically, everything that Eponine taught him did not go in vain. Somehow, he felt like he would not be where he was today if it was not for her.

Although he missed Eponine a lot, he knew that he had to find new friends.

And that's when he met Courfeyrac, a sophomore who also qualified to be in the team. They clicked instantly and he took him to meet his other friends. It took him a while to get blend in with the group because he only had one friend before (who was a girl), but after some time, he realized that he really enjoyed their company. Just like that, the thought of Eponine slowly slipped away from his mind.

But not for long.

One day, Marius was at the cafeteria with Courfeyrac, getting some food after their football practice. When they have finished their food, they sat in comfortable silence, as Courfeyrac was on his phone, texting someone, and Marius kept spinning the ball on his forefinger, grinning when it rotated rapidly but did not fall.

"Hey, what's up?" he heard someone said. He looked up and found Enjolras, Combeferre, and Grantaire taking their seat at their table. They must be from their club meetings too. All three of them were in the debate team, and Enjolras, was the president. They told him that they would meet some new recruits today and they were excited about it. They hardly accepted new members, but when they did, they must be really good ones. However, from the annoyed expression on Enjolras' face, Marius could tell that today was not a good day for them.

"Let me guess. No new members?" Marius asked nonchalantly, his eyes were still on the spinning ball on his forefinger. Then suddenly, to his surprise, Enjolras caught the ball and put it on the chair next to him, away from Marius' reach.

"What the hell, Enjolras?!" Marius exclaimed, making a move to get the ball but when Enjolras glared at him, he knew that it might not be the wise thing to do, so he sat back down.

"What is wrong with you, Enj?" Courfeyrac questioned, putting his phone down to pay attention to their leader. Enjolras simply huffed and dismissed him completely. He seemed to be too frustrated to even talk.

So, Combeferre decided to spill the details.

"We got a new member," he finally spoke.

"Then why are you not happy?"

"We are happy alright," Grantaire smiled wickedly at Enjolras, "But our dear Enjolras is not because he had just lost in his argument with our new member. And guess what? She's a girl."

All of them burst out laughing, amused at the prospect of Enjolras losing in an argument. It was unlike him to lose at all. Always an overachiever, Enjolras was good in everything he did, especially in debating. Because of him, the school was the national champion for two years in a row, so yes; no one wanted to mess with Enjolras. Except… apparently, this new member of their club.

He could not stand his friends laughing at him, so Enjolras finally said, "Okay first of all, girls are just as good in debating as guys are so you should stop making losing to a girl a bad thing. Secondly, I did not lose. It was not an actual argument."

"Enjolras, you basically sat there with your jaw dropped, speechless for the whole ten minutes! And she literally waited for you to come up with another point but you did not say anything!"

Enjolras shook his head, refusing to admit his defeat. Marius giggled, and put his arm around Enjolras' shoulder, ignoring the protest from the marble man who did not like any form of physical contact.

"So tell me, Enjolras," Marius started, "Who is this girl who brought you down at your knees? Who stole every word from your lips, rendering you speechless? Huh?"

Enjolras shoved Marius away, "You're an asshole, you know that?"

His friend simply laughed at him, and said, "Oh come on, stop being such a sore loser!"

"I am not! I… I let her win!"

"Oh look at you, you gallant gentleman you," Courfeyrac teased, pouting his lips simply to irk Enjolras. This earned him a death glare from the blonde leader but he got that almost too often to even care now.

He then turned to Combeferre and Grantaire and asked, "Who is she though? Is she hot?"

"Yes," Combeferre replied shortly. A smirk formed on Courfeyrac's face and Combeferre suddenly exclaimed, "No, you are not allowed to make a move on her! She's a new kid here! Come on Courf, don't be that guy!"

"She's new?" Marius turned to Grantaire, his voice quite loud as he tried to tune out the protests from Courfeyrac and the banter that started between him and Combeferre soon after.

"Yes," Grantaire answered indifferently, "Well, speaking of the devil, there she is!"

He pointed to a skinny girl with olive skin and brown locks who was buying some food at the counter. She had her back facing the boys but when she turned, Marius felt his breath stuck at his throat. He felt like his muscles had gone numb because of shock. His jaw dropped and he blinked, wondering whether this was a dream or reality. Was that her? Was that _really_ her?

He stood up and started to make his way towards the girl. His friends called him, but he did not hear them. All he saw was her. At least, he hoped it was her.

… and it was. It was his 'Ponine!

"What the hell is Marius doing?" Enjolras whispered, but then his eyes widened when the girl shrieked with joy, almost too happy to see Marius. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a tight embrace and when they pulled apart, they both had tears in their eyes, looking as if they were finally reunited after years of separation.

"Alright I have to ask," Courfeyrac suddenly spoke, and the Amis' eyes turned to him, "How come he always gets the girl?"

* * *

_Present day…_

Eponine was walking to class when she saw a tall man with curly dark brown hair, probably in his mid-fifties, roaming in the hallway. He was wearing crisp, white shirt matched with brown slacks and black shoes. He seemed like he was new to the surrounding, as his eyes were observing the place, looking quite lost. Eponine's instinct was to approach him because she had the feeling that he was a new teacher. However, before she got to do that, he caught her gaze and smiled. Sensing that she was the only one who was willing to help him, he strode towards her.

"Good morning, mademoiselle," he greeted. His tone cheerful and friendly, "Can you please tell me where the school gym is? I am lost."

Why was he looking for the school gym?

"It's right down the hall, just turn left, go straight and then turn right. You'll find the gym there," Eponine answered, pointing him to the right direction. However, she could not help but to wonder. Why was he looking for the gym? Was he the new PE teacher? He certainly looked like he could be one, but they had just welcomed their new PE teacher last week. Certainly this school would not introduce another one this quickly? Besides, Mr. Samuels, the new PE teacher, was a sweetheart.

"I am the new principal, miss," the man suddenly said when he found that Eponine was staring at him questioningly. He held out his hand for Eponine to shake. She chuckled. Of course this man was the new principal. Their old principal, Madam Roberts had retired last week and this man must be her replacement.

"Nice to meet you, sir. My name is Eponine Thenardier," Eponine introduced herself as she shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Eponine. My name is Jean. Jean Fauchelevant."

…

Eponine was sitting at the back of the class. Next to her was Marius. She turned to her friend who was scribbling notes and highlighting important facts on his textbook. He was reading his notes but she knew that he was also listening attentively to what Mr. Lewis was saying in front of the class.

Eponine smiled fondly. She loved how he was always focused when they were in class. He's quite intelligent, and also an amazing friend. Eponine wondered what had she done to deserve someone like him in her life.

"Marius," she started, "Do you realize that we are friends for almost eight years now?" She twirled the pencil on her finger, but her eyes were on Mr. Lewis. He's teaching algebra right now, which was something Eponine could not quite understand but she was not worried. Marius promised to come to her house to study tonight.

She heard Marius stop talking notes and then felt his gaze on her. She turned to him, and he seemed to be surprised at her question.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just saying," Eponine answered. "Thank you for staying with me all these years, Marius. I love you, you know that, right?"

As expected, Marius chuckled, as if she was not being serious, "What's gotten into you?"

Eponine simply sighed at his obliviousness, and then stayed silent. She broke her gaze from Marius and went back to her textbook, reading the theories, cursing herself for not understanding how to do the equation. She could still feel Marius' eyes on her, and it took everything she had to not look up when he kept tapping her shoulder, trying to get her attention.

"Marius, stop it. I need to study." She said sternly, and Marius stopped.

Then, she saw him writing something on a piece of paper. Wordlessly, he slid the note to Eponine, who watched him questioningly. Marius turned to Mr. Lewis, and continued listening to his teacher when Eponine received the folded piece of paper.

Curious, Eponine immediately opened the note from Marius. A chuckle escaped her lips as she read its content.

"_I love you too, Eponine."_

**A/N: Hello all! Okay first of all, I am sorry for writing off the Thenardiers in this story but the truth is, I don't like them that much and I don't know how to write them. Besides, I want my Eponine to have good parental figure in this story and Thenardiers are just… not.**

**I will introduce Cosette in the next chapter, I think. And I don't know when I will post the next chapter because I am yet to decide where this story is going. However, thank you so, so much for reading. Constructive criticism and reviews are extremely appreciated.**


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